bookiewithacookie's reviews
184 reviews

A new favourite of mine!

 ‘As symbols of ‘unacceptable’ women, Lilith and our demons are symbols of us all.’

Woman’s Lore: 4,000 Years of Sirens, Serpents and Succubi Review 🐍🌫️

I’ve recently just finished Woman’s Lore by Sarah Clegg, a deep dive into feminine demonology and all things sirens, serpents and succubi!

Let me start off by saying that the detail in this book is beyond meticulous. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I picked up my copy of Woman’s Lore, but I’ve been really enjoying mythological retellings lately, so I thought I’d try and learn some more about the foundations of women in global myth. This book definitely meets that expectation, even if a lot of the deep detail was a bit lost on me.

The read is far more academic than I originally had thought, but I still found myself engaged in the key themes, and I learned loads about male appropriation of women in myth which I find super interesting.

I particularly enjoyed the chapters and notes around Lilith, the supposed demonic first wife of Adam. I find her story fascinating, and have loved seeing Lilith pop up across pop culture in the last couple of years, most notably in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina series on Netflix (which even gets a mention in the book)!

In my opinion, what Clegg does really well here is set an extensive background for how misogynist societies have appropriated women in myth for their own gain, and then map out how these symbols of feminine rage and womanhood are now represented in our contemporary understandings of women’s rights and feminism. The final chapter had SO many ‘aha’ moments for me, I would have easily read an entire book on queer reclamations of Lilith, Mermaids and Demons.

I’d definitely recommend reading Women’s Lore, particularly if you like the academics surrounding classics and myth and enjoy lots of great referencing and background information. It’s also just a great read if you love detailed storytelling! 

 Well once again, Jennifer Saint has DELIVERED. Quickly becoming one of my favourite authors, Saint has given us the same warmth, curiosity and fire 🔥 with Atalanta that we saw with Ariadne and Elektra.

This feminist retelling of the myth of Atalanta follows the heroine from being left on the hillsides of Mount Parthenion as a baby, to joining the Jason and his Argonauts, and later racing (literally) for her freedom to remain unmarried.

I loved reading about Atalanta and Hippomenes in particular as their characters completely defy the traditional gender norms of Greek society. This eventually takes the story on a different path than other Greek myth retellings I’ve read in the past.

All in all, super enjoyable read and I gave this 4.5 stars 🌟. Admittedly I’m a big fan of feminist retellings in popular mythology, but I think a lot of readers would enjoy the book regardless of background knowledge in myth.